The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton; narrated by Susie Berneis | 2013; originally published 1905 | Dreamscape Media | Audiobook $ 22.99
Lily Bart, beautiful, witty and sophisticated, is accepted by ‘old money’ and courted by the growing tribe of nouveaux riches. But as she nears thirty, her foothold becomes precarious; a poor girl with expensive tastes, she needs a husband to preserve her social standing, and to maintain her in the luxury she has come to expect. Whilst many have sought her, something — fastidiousness or integrity — prevents her from making a ‘suitable’ match.
While compiling my challenge for Classics Club, I couldn’t help but notice that this title often showed up on lists of must-read novels. And since I wanted to make an effort to include plenty of women writers in this little personal survey of the classic lit canon, The House of Mirth went on my list, too.
The House of Mirth is the story of Lily Bart, a young woman of Gilded Age New York. As the novel opens, Lily is experiencing difficulties with money and her youth is beginning to fade; her aim is to snag a wealthy husband before she completely ages out of the marriage market and faces financial ruin. Unfortunately for Lily, events don’t go quite according to plan.
The plot itself is quite tragic; it progresses from a mildly melancholic romance to a tale of bleak hardship over the course of the book. Lily Bart is a sympathetic if rather frustrating character, who constantly makes poor choices in pursuit of a socially-expected goal that she is not in fact certain that she truly wants to reach. The book itself is simply beautifully written; Edith Wharton masterfully weaves the minute details of her characters’ private thoughts and personal interactions with a broader observation of sexist injustice and the self-inflicted tyranny of social expectations of the Gilded Age.
It’s clear to me now why this title consistently pops up on can’t-miss classic lit lists. It’s an engaging combo of character-driven personal tragedy and clever social commentary.
Links:
- The Mount, home of Edith Wharton
- Edith Wharton Collection at Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Edith Wharton profile from the Poetry Foundation
Publication information: Wharton, Edith. The house of mirth. Holland, Ohio: Dreamscape Media, 2013. Audiobook.
Source: Public library, via Hoopla.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.
